Through their leadership and philanthropy,
the Snell family has played an integral role in Northeastern's
evolution toard prominence. Pictured are George A. Snell,
E'41, H'90, and his wife, Lorraine, at the dedication of
Snell Engineering Center in 1984.

Snell Family Sets Standard for Leadership

During his sixty-year affiliation with Northeastern,
the late George A. Snell, E'41, H'90, played an integral role in Northeastern's
growth from a few rented classrooms at the YMCA to a major urban research
university.

"Unrestricted gifts of this size are rare, and provide a unique opportunity to fund a top priority and make a significant impact."

Snell entered Northeastern in 1936, earning a Bachelor
of Science degree from the College
of Engineering. After serving in World War 2, he founded the successful
Snell Construction Corporation in the Washington, D.C., area, where
he and his wife, Lorraine, raised five daughters.

A Northeastern trustee from 1970 to 1997, Snell
understood the challenges facing what was then the largest private
university in the nation. Until his death in 1997, he helped guide
the university to a new stage in its evolution toward international
prominence.

"Northeastern would not be what it is today without the Snell family's leadership and vision over the years," says President Richard M. Freeland.

Time and again, the Snells demonstrated their loyalty
to Northeastern, and responded to the university's most pressing needs.
Their unstinting support of three key priorities — undergraduate
financial aid, faculty, and
the physical campus — made
them the university's most generous benefactors of the twentieth century.

The couple established the George A. and Lorraine
C. Snell Scholarship for talented students with financial need, and
two professorships — the George A. Snell Professorship in Engineering
and the Lorraine C. Snell Professorship in Health Care — to
help ensure Northeastern's capacity to attract outstanding faculty
members.

The Snell family also set the stage for the transformation
of the Northeastern campus, through two cornerstones — Snell
Engineering Center and the adjacent Snell
Library — that bear the family's name. In the late 1980s,
the library was the first in a series of building projects that changed
the face of Northeastern, beautifying the campus and expanding it
westward.

"George was devoted to Northeastern for many years
and believed strongly in the cooperative education model. He credited
his success in part to the excellent education and work ethic he received
at the university," says Lorraine Snell.

The family's proud legacy at Northeastern continues
today. The couple's daughter Lynda Vickers-Smith — the current
president of the Snell Construction Corporation — serves as
a member of the Northeastern Corporation.